The Cinnamon Prince

Because the goings-on of Prince Harry’s private life are guarded incredibly closely—it’s rare to get so much as a grainy paparazzi picture of Harry at a non-official event—when we do get a glimpse (such as that shot last summer of Harry conversing in, uh, close proximity to Dr. Who star Jenna Coleman), it’s enough fuel for at least three months’ worth of headlines in the British press. When it comes to the single, 31-year-old prince, any intel whatsoever is met with near-fanatic speculation (we recently dubbed this the “Jennifer Aniston treatment”).

So, in what can only be termed a royal jackpot for the tabloids, over the weekend, a few outlets picked up a series of Instagram posts from a holiday party held a few weeks ago, which was sponsored by Ciroc vodka and thrown by British model Suki Waterhouse (whom you may know best as Bradley Cooper’s ex-girlfriend). In one of the shots—which has, predictably though sadly, been taken down from Instagram—Harry is seen crashing a photo-booth shot including Margot Robbie (with her tongue stuck out), Sienna Miller (in an elf-type hat), Waterhouse (attempting a salute of some kind), Cara Delevingne (also with her tongue out, natch) and Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie. Harry is wearing green prop glasses, as well as a dark baseball cap, and appears to be flashing a thumbs up. In a second photo, also from the event and also since taken down, Harry’s face is seen in full (resplendent beard and all), as he poses with three unidentified party guests (in this one, he’s got a sign that says “amazeballs,” which we can promise you is the first and last time that word will be used in a post about the royals on this Web site).

This is all a lot to take in! We know Harry has no doubt met these famous British women a number of times previously at various events and the like, but we did not know he was on photo-booth terms with them! It’s sort of hard to reconcile these shots with the stream of Harry in a Suit Shaking Hands with Well-Wishers on His Way into a Charity Event shots we are used to, but, there is something sort of comforting (yes, we just used the word “comforting” in reference to pictures of a 31-year-old prince partying with models and actresses) about these pictures. He seems—in these deleted ’grams—like a guy free of pressures or responsibilities or expectations. “Hey, Margooooooot!,” we imagine him shouting. (“Hi, Harry,” she responds, shaking her head and taking a sip of her drink, before poking Cara in the shoulder and running off.)

Of course, the Daily Mail is already suggesting that Harry and Suki may have been flirting at this party, and that she would very much be Harry’s “type.” But we don’t want to let the tabloid industrial complex have their way with these photos just yet (check back with us tomorrow, though, and we’ll probably be ready). For now, we just want to revel in the shot as it exists, luxuriate in Eugenie’s delight, and Margot’s Harley Davidson T-shirt, and Sienna’s affected scowl, and the ribbing we assume Cara gives Harry every time she sees him (“Well, if it isn’t the prince himself! Where is your sceptre, Harry?!”), and envisioning Harry getting up the next morning, with a grin, and texting Kate a play-by-play of the entire series of events.

Top-Hat Harry. Are we the only ones who used the top-hat piece in Monopoly expressly to sit on top of the money accumulated for Free Parking?

Photo: by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.

Yellow-Sash Harry. You could imagine if those pants were paired with, say, a black T-shirt, it could actually be a sort of hipster, indie-rocker look for him.

Photo: by Stefan Postles/Getty Images.

Army Harry. Take this one in, folks, as we will not be seeing this look anymore, for Harry has said good-bye to his army days.

Photo: by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

Suit Harry. Ready to shake hands with a hundred well-wishers, or to clock-in for the first day of his Goldman Sachs internship.

Photo: by Samir Hussein/WireImage.

Flannel-Shirt Harry. . . . which is this flannel-shirt look! He could wear that parka to a charity event, and just blame the inclement weather, whereas there is no way this Mumford-y flannel would ever fly. (Also: Hi, Cressida! We miss getting to write about you!)

Photo: by Karwai Tang/WireImage.

Polo-Shirt Harry. This pose! There should be a thousand granite statues constructed of Harry in this pose!

Photo: by Chris Jackson/Getty Images.

T-Shirt Harry. We have now reached our least formal look, and, MAN, is this a least formal look, right?!

Photo: by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images.

Top-Hat Harry. Are we the only ones who used the top-hat piece in Monopoly expressly to sit on top of the money accumulated for Free Parking?

by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.

Yellow-Sash Harry. You could imagine if those pants were paired with, say, a black T-shirt, it could actually be a sort of hipster, indie-rocker look for him.

by Stefan Postles/Getty Images.

Army Harry. Take this one in, folks, as we will not be seeing this look anymore, for Harry has said good-bye to his army days.

by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

Suit Harry. Ready to shake hands with a hundred well-wishers, or to clock-in for the first day of his Goldman Sachs internship.

by Samir Hussein/WireImage.

No-Tie Harry. This is a very different Harry than Suit Harry. No-Tie Harry is going to order that third drink. No-Tie Harry is going to share that piece of gossip that he knows he probably shouldn’t. No-Tie Harry doesn’t remember your name, but you don’t mind at all.

by Toby Melville/WPA Pool/Getty Images.

Fleece-Pullover Harry. He looks right out of an L.L.Bean catalogue here, no?

by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images.

Arctic-Tundra Harry. It was sort of challenging to place this look on a “most formal to least formal” scale, since it sort of lives out on its own, but we think you’ll agree it’s “more formal” than the next look . . .

by David Cheskin/WPA Pool/Getty Images.

Flannel-Shirt Harry. . . . which is this flannel-shirt look! He could wear that parka to a charity event, and just blame the inclement weather, whereas there is no way this Mumford-y flannel would ever fly. (Also: Hi, Cressida! We miss getting to write about you!)

by Karwai Tang/WireImage.

Polo-Shirt Harry. This pose! There should be a thousand granite statues constructed of Harry in this pose!

by Chris Jackson/Getty Images.

T-Shirt Harry. We have now reached our least formal look, and, MAN, is this a least formal look, right?!